Dancing against domestic violence: Pictou County belly dancer leads classes to raise money for women’s shelter

STELLARTON, N.S. — For Amy Caroline, belly dancing is about more than the exercise and the dancing; it’s also about giving back to the community.

“It’s a way to come together and have strong friendships with each other,” Caroline said in an interview with SaltWire. “The event in May is geared towards awareness of physical violence, but also the importance of learning the signs before it turns into physical violence.”

Caroline is teaching belly dance classes in Pictou County to participate in Shimmymob, a global fundraiser that aims to help local women’s shelters all around the world. Having started in the U.S. 14 years ago, the event has taken off with groups worldwide participating in the charity fundraiser every May 11, World Belly Dance Day.

“It’s a worldwide belly dancing fundraising event, raising awareness for domestic abuse and raising money for local women’s shelters,” she said.

This isn’t the first time she has participated in Shimmymob. She did this fundraiser once in 2015 when she was living in P.E.I. Now that she has more experience teaching belly dancing and calls Pictou County home, she hopes to participate in the fundraiser for the foreseeable future.

“I’m thinking now that I have those extra years of experience teaching, I would like to keep up with Shimmymob because it’s a wonderful organization to be a part of, and while it’s a lot to put on I feel like I have more skills now that I can put it on every year,” she continued.

Caroline’s group is one of two in Nova Scotia, with the second group participating based out of Halifax.

Anyone can belly dance

Caroline began belly dancing when she was 16, living in a small town in British Columbia, and “just fell in love with it.”

It was a six-month workshop, and ever since trying it out, she said she had begun to pine for the dance. When she had the opportunity to move to Ontario in 2006 and learned there was a belly dance studio nearby, she jumped on the chance to join.

Since then, Caroline has made teaching and spreading the art of belly dancing a career.

“When I moved to P.E.I. I moved there because I was looking for a place to do belly dancing. I knew it would be one of my main sources of income,” Caroline said. “I’d been looking for a place to live that maybe didn’t have as many studios. P.E.I. has no studios and has been growing more and more multicultural communities, so I chose that as a place to live, and I taught there.”

For her and the participants in her classes at the Pictou NSCC gym, it’s an activity anyone can do, no matter their age or ability.

Nicole MacCallum, a participant in Caroline’s class, plans to join the Shimmymob in May; she’s really enjoying the class because it’s fun and helps improve her balance as someone with Multiple Sclerosis.

“I want people to see, even with illness, that they can do this,” MacCallum said following the Monday evening class on Jan. 22.

Crystal Mann, another participant in the class, echoed MacCallum’s sentiment. Mann has a permanently broken ankle and has just recently stopped using a walker and cane.

“It’s my first time in a long time doing an activity on land,” Mann said with a laugh, elaborating that she mostly does water aerobics. “The movement is really fluid, and it’s good cardio. I was afraid to come here, which is why I’m here now.”

She added that the Shimmymob also offers the option to do chair belly dancing, something she’s looking into for the May 11 event.

“To be in solidarity with shelters around the globe is just great,” Mann added.

Dancing for a good cause

Caroline said the fee to participate in the Shimmymob is $70, and 15 per cent of the cost will go towards the Tearmann Society.

The majority of the money, however, will be raised on May 11, the day of the flash mob.

“We’ll have a little basket out, and people can put donation money in that. We’re also going to have a donation thing on Facebook, so that makes it easy for people,” Caroline said.

To participate in the classes Caroline teaches leading up to the flash mob day; it just costs a small item for clients of the Tearmann Society or an item for the food bank.

For those interested in learning more about Shimmymob or participating in some of Amy Caroline’s belly dancing workshops, you can follow her on Facebook at Pictou County Belly Dance with Amy.